I have usually played roundwounds. Whenever, I put flats on a bass, I think they are great too. Then I go back to the roundwounds, and immediately prefer the added sustain and brightness. Then back to the flats, and love that warm tone and smooth feel. Guess I am just fickle.
@@DanButcher303 Not specifically bright, I would say regular. For dull maybe tapewounds are better, but I am not sure I never used them myself. As for flats, the older they get the better they sound to me and also the duller. Chromes can be a bit harsh the first hours/days (depending on how much you play, but not really nice sounding than), but after that they go through stage after stage of niceness while they are aging. Mine current ones are 4 years old now, the previous set I used for 5 years (as I change them from bass to bass sometimes the end started to break, if you don't they can last for 20 and more years...)
When I first started playing bass I hated the ticking sound and twang from round wound strings. Some technique improvement helped but it never fully went away. Flatwounds feel like home to me. Hard to explain but flatwounds are much more comfortable and help me play better... or at least sound better. I'm putting flats on my 6 string bass soon.
I played roundwounds for 30 years and I got really tired of the strings ripping my fingers up, making them sore, grinding down my frets, and being hard to wipe clean after gigs. Then I tried flatwounds and really loved the feel and the fact they were gentle on my frets and easy to wipe down. But I still missed the highest highs of roundwounds. Then, one day I discovered Rotosound Jazz 77 strings. I got better highs from them than flatwounds, and they felt exactly like flatwounds. The perfect string!! I also noticed I could gig constantly for two years, and they did not go dead in that time. I've used them for 10 years+ and I still love them so much. I'm never going back to roundwounds.
I do not think that ease of playing is a good reason to choose a string, Dear Locke, but, rather, the tonal picture it puts in the Listener's ear. That said, flatwounds bring softer, dusty, dried, felten, opaque, mildewy, wooden and closetted shadowy , and or lichen on the tombstone, qualities to the sound, because the flattening of the winding destroys the high end harmonics, which produces a nasaley mid-range bias to imply that. Roundwound strings, however, have the full range of frequency response, because of the completely circular shape of their windings. No frequency bias in that, the sharp & wide sound vaults into the Listener's ear which alludes to a Gothick Cathedral, as well as highly polished luminescent textures, such as concrete, satin, velour, and water, and the implication of wide vast spaces. A quick listen to the sound of John Entwistle's bass conveys that in a most illustrative way, just as a quick listen to Miss Carol Kaye playing the opening theme to the Wild Wild West Show can depict the virtues of the flatwound string at it's best. Personally, I think the right way to go is to have a bass with round and another with flats - to choose which fits the song best.
Bee Sheerhan no, I agree, sound is the most important and I plan to have flats on one and rounds on the other as soon as I get another bass. Since I play a lot of jazz flats would work for me with the nice round tone, but I chose to stick to rounds for the sake of being able to pull out that punchyness when I need it. Thanks for your advice and time though!
@@@ethanlocke3604 You're welcome, Kind Sir. Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I like the way you are thinking. Yes, if I only had one bass in action, rounds it would have to be. Be well!
I'd recommend stringing a flatwound for the E for that smooth deep RnB-motown deep-dead moolah tone, then the A and D with tapewounds for the in-between tone it produces, and then the G with roundwound for that nice pop whenever you need the slap-pluck tone for funk. There you go...a complete bass for all genre and playing styles. Do it! DO it!
I really thought the same man. I've saw another email of him before of this with 4 years of difference and for my surprise this is the new one. Wow man, what happened?
Flats or round wounds which is best? Depends on the song. The best overall? Short answer, flats. Best flats, Thomastik, they are also the most expensive, however well worth it. Also something that should be addressed is that flats usually create more tension on the neck, not a good thing. Thomastik have the least tension of the flats, another reason to get them.
I've switched to DR roundwounds recently and when it comes to slap&pop, it pays off more than I bargain for. I'd also preferred flatwounds and halfwounds in the past but once I got my hands on flatwounds in particular, they were way too stiff, tight and hard to get used to. I also tried Steve Harris signature set on my bass, and I appreciated him a lot as to how he survives through fast passages of a track by galloping. 😮
I use OLD roundwounds, a good middle-ground. A slightly duller tone like flats, but you still get bite like rounds. I've had the same strings on my 5-String Jazz for four years and I love the sound and feel.
I played rounds for about 30 years and just changed to flats a few months ago. My playing style has changed considerably and I think has improved dramatically. When playing flats i feel much more creative as a bassist.
It's weird how these tendencies change overtime. When I bought my first Fender P-Bass in 1970's, it brought flats from factory, needless to say, I quickly changed them to Rotosound Rounds; on the contrary, this year I bought a Fender Jazz Bass, and it came with Fender Rounds; with that said, I see a tendency today (08-2020) on players going back to flats. I use Elixir Rounds Coated (nanoweb) and Pirastro Eva Pirazzi Flats on my upright acoustic bass. I've also noticed a tendency on electric bass players to get a darker, warmer sound these days, almost like they want to sound like a real bass. So use whatever string, but play the right notes! And don't use the bridge pick-up alone:-)
@@Kl1Ainti Did the same thing. I've tried flats twice over the 30 years I've been playing. Maybe if I had a large collection of basses I would string one with flats but having only two, I still prefer rounds.
my first bass , the hofner ignition , came with roundwound strings . being new to bass , with some research i found that flatwounds are best due to the hollow body construction and would bring out the deep warm tone that hofners are famous for .
I started using Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my my basses a couple years ago, best choice I ever made. I use em for any genre of music. They're surprisingly bright and they last forever.
I only ever had one set of flats. Technique and the tone knob can make rounds sound like flats but not vice-versa. I have Pro Steels on my Aria (active lefty-PJ) and Swings on my Kimbara (passive JJ).
Mostly rounds for me. I really like the "piano" sort of overtones and the metallic clank when I play hard, and I'm into a lot of rock and metal so it works well. Even on fretless I like the brighter sound, it really doesn't wear the board that much. There are scratches on the fingerboard. but not really visible unless you're looking. It'll be a looong time before it needs to be sanded. I have a 5 string with Ernie ball Cobalt flats though, great B string and just fun overall. I mostly reach for that bass for an old school sound. Hip hop, fingerstyle funk, older rock, they do that well. They have versatility though, it's all about how you attack them.
I use the D'Addario Chromes Flats, 45-100. They're absolutely killer, and although I'm exclusively a fretless player now, I used to use them on my fretted basses too. More than anything, I find that they sit really nicely in a mix - less business in the sound via less upper harmonic content means that you can really find that niche above the kick drum and below the lower chordal sounds and things blend perfectly. The D'Addarios are also great as they have a little more bite than most flats, and this bite stays around for ages, so they can deliver better results for more aggressive players in rock or other heavier stuff
Agree on your string choice. I just bought a yamaha bbp4 which I love, but it came with rounds which I found too pingy through most of the pickup and tone blend range. I put on a set of chromes and this bass now sounds killer- including the bridge pickup solo which i didn't expect.
He actually had a good slap sound even with the flats. With the right eqing maybe even better. I was a flat user before and may switch back. Very full tone and easy to cut through in the mix.
Thomastik infeld-jazz flats. My favorite strings by far. They have great mids and they're very expressive. Tone is a little more chill than nickel-half round
If they could capture that sound with higher tension, I'd literally never buy another set of strings. I was told by someone at Thomastik though that the tension was inextricably tied to the sound - which is a real bummer, because I can't deal with strings that feel like rubber bands - unless I'm doing reeeeally mellow studio work.
allrequiredfields they sound and feel fine above the 10 fret but below that it gets a bit mushy. I have some on my new G&L JB but I’m considering putting on some La Bella’s
I had more issues adjusting to the smoother strings, overshooting slides and such. That did not last long. I was a roofer for a lot of years so I have strong hands so I might not have noticed if they are stiffer.
As a recording engineer with 25 years of experience: We LOVE flatwounds. Sounds soo much better and musical in the mix! Greatly exemplified here by the slapping. The rounds sounded like a solo bass album (very small market) while the flats sounded like a record. It is one of those little recording pro «secrets».
Started playing round wounds, but after a total makeover I put some flatwounds on it. Never go back. They are so nice and silky. I love the sound and the feel !
Here are a few more important differences which he didn't mention. Flatwounds on a longscale bass,, don't stretch as easily, therefore it requires more string tension to achieve the same tuning as roundwounds. More tension on less flexible strings, means that flatwounds will be stiffer and harder to depress. The greater tension will cause the neck to curve more, which means that your action might be higher and you might have to relieve your truss rod and readjust your set up. Higher action and stiffer strings will feel like weightlifting for you fingers. Flatwounds on a longscale bass also makes string bending much more difficult. If you switch to flatwounds, I highly recommend doing some research on how to perform a proper setup on your bass. On a shortscale bass, the greater tension of stiffer flatwound strings is actually a big advantage. Players who are new to shortscale basses often complain about the sloppy, rubber bandy feeling of the strings and consequently, some added string buzz. On shortscale basses with roundwounds, string bends re very easy, but string buzz can sometimesbe a problem. However, flatwound strings on a shortscale bass are a match made in heaven. The higher tension removes that sloppy rubber body feel, while still offering easier bends than roundwounds on a long scale bass. I would never even consider roundwounds on a shortscale bass. I imagine that the only reason, shortscale basses are even sold with roundwounds is to save money. The first thing that I did to my Mustang bass was switch to flatwound D'darrio Chromes.
Thanks for all your videos. I use Flat wound on my Fender Bass VI. I have rounds on my Jazz Bass, but am going to convert them to flats. For me, I find the rounds are more comfortable, so I can play along with more of your videos.
I use these as well...gives me the feel of the flats, but I can crank the pickups up and get the brightness of the rounds....only strings i will buy from now on
I'm a beginner, I have roundwounds since that is what came with the bass. I want flatwounds because the pickups are really noisy when I turn on the tone knob. So I just wanna embrace the tone being rolled off tbh.
I have got into using light gauge roundwound Rotosound strings, 35 - 55 - 70 - 90 initially I starting using them on my acoustic but I am going to get them for my next electric string set as well. Although he didn't influence my choice initially, it way simply experimenting with getting a better sound, I read that Cluff Burton used lighter gauge strings and I don't feel it made him sound at all light weight.
@@gabeabraham9285 haha so did I! Lets start a band bro. This a sign. God is bringing us together to start a band. We are going to bring back great music
I am a huge fan of both! Different situations call for different sounds ;) GHS Pressurewounds are my absolute favorite round wounds - and in all honesty they are semi- flats... making them one unique string!!! Ernie Ball Colbalt Flat Wounds are some of my favorite flat wounds...
I started off with flat wounds, because those were the strings my dad’s bass had. After getting my own bass last year, I decided to get round wounds to see what they’re like. I like both strings and which ones I play depends on the type of music I’m playing at the time.
Fender Am Pro PB with Fender PV63s, a 920D PB wiring harness and Fender 9050 stainless flatwounds. Play through a Little Marcus 102 combo. Can achieve all the tones ever need! Absolutely LOVE this rig!! Unbelievable!
I use roundwounds on my Fender Active Precision bass for the sound, and flatwounds on my Ibanez Portamento fretless bass to not damage the fingerboard. They both sound great for what they do!
Thank you for the video explanation, the differences and examples of who has used them. I like to buy flats for worship in future for warmer tones since it doesn’t require slap but maybe in future I’ll buy a second bass for slap with rounds. But they both sound well to my ears for slap but I understand in some mixes the rounds would help stand out more.
i have it too!!! i love them! and they are better than flats for slap (but not better than round of course)...i think that tapewound strings are too much underrated!
Lol, made the switch to flats day before I was playing my 3rd gig. Had some blood pressure issues when I found my fingers sliding around on the smooth strings. Thought I made a big mistake until I heard the sound.
@@beasheerhan4482 they seem to last a lot longer than other brands, have more crisp tone than other brands, and stand up to the torture that I put strings through.
@@beasheerhan4482 I also use rounds and prefer Ernie Ball, I like that the E string has a deep and strong low end sound to it, while some brands it seems that the E low end is dead. D'addario has terrible low end sound to it.
I have 3 basses so: For my 4string Stingray - Roundwound Ernie Ball strings For my 5string Fretless - Flatwound D'Addario strings For my 12string (Tom Petersson style) - Roundwound D'Addario strings (they have a set made for this kind of bass so i don't have to mix and match)
I put LaBella stainless steel flatwounds on my Fender P Bass, after playing roundwounds for about 10 years. I will never go back to roundwounds again. The feel and tone of the flats, is amazing. I wish I had switched 10 years ago.
Great video Mark. I think it's one of the best video for comparing rounds vs flats. It probably would have been nice to have some tapes in there aswell.
For my Precisions & Yamaha BB424, I have either D'Addario Chromes or GHS Precision Flats. That being said, I recently switched to Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Flats from EB RS Rounds on my 1966 Fender MIJ LE Jazz Bass. I'm a 67 yr. old geezer and going back to my roots w/flats. Nothing against round wound strings, tho'.
@@DarkShaman667 I tried Ernie Ball strings one time and they wore out really fast , they where strange the strings would stick to my fingers like a magnet.
Personally I love playing slap on flatwounds. Has a more old school, upright bass sound like the bassists in old rockabilly bands got. To each their own tho.
I use typical round wounds on my fretted bass and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat Wound strings on my fretless. The Thomastiks were designed to be a little brighter, and I love the tone on the fretless. I'd note, too, that on a fretless bass, round strings will really chew up your fingerboard, so the flats have a huge pro (or the rounds a huge con) for fretless basses.
It's like he just broke up with his girlfriend, his kid has just broken his brand new coffee machine and there's a traffic official ticketing his car outside, but he's got to finish the video.
Carol Kaye instructs anyone who asks her to use Flatwound and she used it on every record she recorded on from the 60's until now. She is arguably one of the the most recorded Rock/Pop/Jazz/Funk/Disco Bass player ever. I hope that helps anyone trying to decide.
Hey there great videos, thank you! There is another option, half rounds. They have some of the characteristics of both. I've been using them for years and depending on how I EQ my gear I can chameleon the sound to what ever it needs to be mostly. Please keep making videos these are very helpful!
That was a great explanation of the 2 types of bass strings. Thank you. I have used flat wound strings and I use to use something called black tubes that had a covering over the strings. I like a melo sound to my bass.
My go to is Fender stainless steel flat wounds I love them on all my bass! Except for my Steve Harris precision bass, I have a signature strings on that one
I use D'Addario XL Chromes 12/52 flatwound (ECG25) on my electric guitar. I play death metal and black metal rhythms in my electronic and symphonic metal compositions. I might be buying a bass guitar this year, but I have never played one and I currently use a mixed combination of various plugins, midi guitar and octavers. I also mix 6 to 8 channels of various distortion styles using flatwound strings of which I record seperate strings from my gk2 pickup as well as both guitar pickups for a total of 8 channels per guitar track which my songs uses 2 to 4 guitar tracks. (4 guitar tracks equals 32 direct input DAW tracks). I will also want to record individual bass guitar strings (5 or 6 string bass) using the roland midi pickup for bass guitars and record every seperate pickup as well. I record improv practice sessions with 8 tracks which allows me to take full advantage of all possible production techniques including ones never used before. I often forget newly inspired riffs and now I not only can fully analyze what I played, but can manipulate it or shape it any way I like if I cannot physically perform it. I also use programmed Ample Sound Hellraiser virtual guitar for leads I cannot play due to my deformed broken finger. I have not used round wounds in over 20 years but have also not been playing guitar for 14 years. I wanted to know the differences for guitar, but most likely round wounds are brighter. I generally do not like fret sounds unless it fits the mix of particular songs, so flatwounds gives me cleaner tones of direct input. I do utilize vst plugins fret noise generators to humanize programmed guitars to sound less mechanical. I most likely will stick with flatwounds for my guitar as well as a bass whenever I get one.
I have Flats...D’Addario Chromes, 45 - 100 on my 4003SW. My Rickenbacker 2030 have Roundwounds on them. I purchased the bass and those were the strings on it when I got it.
For context, I am mainly a guitarist, but was asked to play bass for a country/folk group. I got hold of a second hand bass with round wounds. Played it for a while. Then, I bought some Adagio flat wound strings. £17 or so. Put them on and I love them for the sort of playing that I am doing. Of course, they wouldn't do for heavy rock or metal, but for my gentle plodding bass they are just ideal.
Great no nonsense straight to point and informative. Might've liked to see this extended to tspewonds but I'm guessing not a lot of difference with flats
Thank you for the terrific video! I've used round wounds (D'Addario) forever but like the idea of giving the flat wound style a go. Sadly, I like the "bright" tone you've demonstrated using round wounds, but fret noise (and wear) are troublesome. If ONLY they could make a somewhat brighter sounding round wound string...
I have basses strung with both flats and roundwounds. As i am an older player I still like the sound of flats for blues, classic 60's and70's rock and I prefer them in the studio most of the time. Rounds for newer stuff and when i am doing gigs where I need to cut through a little better. I use LaBellas for flats and usually Dean Markley's or LaBella RX stainless for rounds. 45-105
I play mostly jazz and blues and use flats exclusively. Flats on a jazz bass and plucking close to the neck gives you a sound similar to that of an upright bass (if that's what you desire).
I have usually played roundwounds. Whenever, I put flats on a bass, I think they are great too. Then I go back to the roundwounds, and immediately prefer the added sustain and brightness. Then back to the flats, and love that warm tone and smooth feel. Guess I am just fickle.
Why not have two basses strung with each?
@@richieluckenbill1590 Stop it. I've only been playing bass for 6 months & I already feel I need a second one
@@TheRip72 Lmao One more won't hurt 😜😂
@@richieluckenbill1590 Yeah and 5 years later you have 12 of them.
You’ll need another bass that you love. One with a set of roundwounds and another with flat wounds. That’s what I ended up doing.
Am I the only one that actually likes the flatwound slap tone??
And I use both (round nickel and steel) mostly 45-100 but my flats are Chromes 40-95
You are not alone - I like the slapped Flat sound.... especially if you use Ernie Ball Colbalts - they are snappy!!!
like it too.. chromes as well
Are flat chromes bright ? Im interested in the dullest sound possible. Thanks in advance.
@@DanButcher303 Not specifically bright, I would say regular.
For dull maybe tapewounds are better, but I am not sure I never used them myself.
As for flats, the older they get the better they sound to me and also the duller.
Chromes can be a bit harsh the first hours/days (depending on how much you play, but not really nice sounding than), but after that they go through stage after stage of niceness while they are aging.
Mine current ones are 4 years old now, the previous set I used for 5 years (as I change them from bass to bass sometimes the end started to break, if you don't they can last for 20 and more years...)
In Stadium Arcadium Flea used his 67 J bass with flats. Slap bass is strong on that album.
When I first started playing bass I hated the ticking sound and twang from round wound strings. Some technique improvement helped but it never fully went away. Flatwounds feel like home to me. Hard to explain but flatwounds are much more comfortable and help me play better... or at least sound better. I'm putting flats on my 6 string bass soon.
I'm guessing you don't play much slap bass
I have both. I too feel much better playing the flats. They just feel good. I can adjust the Bass Amp for tonal quality changes.
I played roundwounds for 30 years and I got really tired of the strings ripping my fingers up, making them sore, grinding down my frets, and being hard to wipe clean after gigs.
Then I tried flatwounds and really loved the feel and the fact they were gentle on my frets and easy to wipe down. But I still missed the highest highs of roundwounds.
Then, one day I discovered Rotosound Jazz 77 strings. I got better highs from them than flatwounds, and they felt exactly like flatwounds. The perfect string!!
I also noticed I could gig constantly for two years, and they did not go dead in that time.
I've used them for 10 years+ and I still love them so much. I'm never going back to roundwounds.
I've tried many different types and always go back to the rotosound flat 77s
Try DR black Beauties strings
I think the trick is to have a couple of basses,..one with rounds and one with flats, if you can afford it. Great video Mark !!
every problem is solved with money
@@nerd7045 If problem can be solved with money then it's not a problem. It's investment.
I like the consistency of flatwounds, and I love the way they feel. I use them on both of my basses and on my electric guitar
I have rounds, but I’ve been considering switching to flats since I borrowed a friends bass with them and they felt sooo nice
I do not think that ease of playing is a good reason to choose a string, Dear Locke, but, rather, the tonal picture it puts in the Listener's ear.
That said, flatwounds bring softer, dusty, dried, felten, opaque, mildewy, wooden and closetted shadowy , and or lichen on the tombstone, qualities to the sound, because the flattening of the winding destroys the high end harmonics, which produces a nasaley mid-range bias to imply that.
Roundwound strings, however, have the full range of frequency response, because of the completely circular shape of their windings.
No frequency bias in that, the sharp & wide sound vaults into the Listener's ear which alludes to a Gothick Cathedral, as well as highly polished luminescent textures, such as concrete, satin, velour, and water, and the implication of wide vast spaces.
A quick listen to the sound of John Entwistle's bass conveys that in a most illustrative way, just as a quick listen to Miss Carol Kaye playing the opening theme to the Wild Wild West Show can depict the virtues of the flatwound string at it's best.
Personally, I think the right way to go is to have a bass with round and another with flats - to choose which fits the song best.
Bee Sheerhan no, I agree, sound is the most important and I plan to have flats on one and rounds on the other as soon as I get another bass. Since I play a lot of jazz flats would work for me with the nice round tone, but I chose to stick to rounds for the sake of being able to pull out that punchyness when I need it. Thanks for your advice and time though!
@@@ethanlocke3604 You're welcome, Kind Sir. Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I like the way you are thinking. Yes, if I only had one bass in action, rounds it would have to be. Be well!
Bea Sheerhan you, sir, have won the internet today gentlesir!
@@beasheerhan4482 Right tombstone and kill the hig ringtone, just my kind of thing.
I'd recommend stringing a flatwound for the E for that smooth deep RnB-motown deep-dead moolah tone, then the A and D with tapewounds for the in-between tone it produces, and then the G with roundwound for that nice pop whenever you need the slap-pluck tone for funk. There you go...a complete bass for all genre and playing styles. Do it! DO it!
I'm gonna try this when I get paid
That’s actually an interesting idea. Thanks.
@@Beethoven8335 If this ain't the most relatable comment
Sounds nuts though 😂
Gotta know if anyone else tried this and how did it work out
He looks like he would lose his temper easily, scream, then apologize
I really thought the same man. I've saw another email of him before of this with 4 years of difference and for my surprise this is the new one. Wow man, what happened?
Maybe he just got out of jail.
Maybe this is the 13423527th take after getting his ****wounds mixed up again and again and again and again?
😂
I’m dead bro 😂😂
Wow! Perfect!
This video thoroughly explained the differences of both.
No bs filler, just pure substance.
Flatwounds!! I love them. :) Love the tone
Humbucker pickup for the win!
What a great bass teacher
Thanks for being so generous Mr Mark
Flats or round wounds which is best? Depends on the song. The best overall? Short answer, flats. Best flats, Thomastik, they are also the most expensive, however well worth it. Also something that should be addressed is that flats usually create more tension on the neck, not a good thing. Thomastik have the least tension of the flats, another reason to get them.
I found Rotosound does a nice job with tension as well, but Fender's 50s, Ernieballs is awful for string tension.
80 bucks!!! Ouch!!
80 bucks, and they are probably still going strong 4 years after his comment.
I've switched to DR roundwounds recently and when it comes to slap&pop, it pays off more than I bargain for. I'd also preferred flatwounds and halfwounds in the past but once I got my hands on flatwounds in particular, they were way too stiff, tight and hard to get used to. I also tried Steve Harris signature set on my bass, and I appreciated him a lot as to how he survives through fast passages of a track by galloping. 😮
I'm drawn to Flats. D'Addario Chromes or Ernie Ball Slinky Flats. Both medium gauge.
D'addario flats are my favorite of every string I've tried and I've tried lots of strings.
I use OLD roundwounds, a good middle-ground. A slightly duller tone like flats, but you still get bite like rounds. I've had the same strings on my 5-String Jazz for four years and I love the sound and feel.
I played rounds for about 30 years and just changed to flats a few months ago. My playing style has changed considerably and I think has improved dramatically. When playing flats i feel much more creative as a bassist.
Imagine going for fretless.
It's weird how these tendencies change overtime. When I bought my first Fender P-Bass in 1970's, it brought flats from factory, needless to say, I quickly changed them to Rotosound Rounds; on the contrary, this year I bought a Fender Jazz Bass, and it came with Fender Rounds; with that said, I see a tendency today (08-2020) on players going back to flats. I use Elixir Rounds Coated (nanoweb) and Pirastro Eva Pirazzi Flats on my upright acoustic bass. I've also noticed a tendency on electric bass players to get a darker, warmer sound these days, almost like they want to sound like a real bass. So use whatever string, but play the right notes! And don't use the bridge pick-up alone:-)
"almost like they want to sound like a real bass." lmaoo
You know what though, this may be the best video like this on RUclips
I play with roundwound and flatwound on diferent bass guitars. Depends on the sound I want.
same me, raoundwound are more agresive and some times you need that tone, but flat are just fantastic if i can use them in a band i just use it
Rob Keus i agree i dont ever use flatwound but im about to buy one set of flatwound and 2 set of ernie and rotosound strings on my p bass
Mark is such a great teacher!! Knows his stuff inside out! Love his videos
Great video Mark! I use flats on my P bass and rounds on my Jazz bass. I get to best of both worlds!
Just tried flatwound standard gauge, i love them so much. The tone the feel everything.
If you tried flatwounds once - there is no way back ))
@Henri Boubli Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats are awesome !
@@Kl1Ainti Did the same thing. I've tried flats twice over the 30 years I've been playing. Maybe if I had a large collection of basses I would string one with flats but having only two, I still prefer rounds.
You are one of, if not the best, at a concise explanation of the subject matter. Now I know why I prefer flatwounds.
my first bass , the hofner ignition , came with roundwound strings . being new to bass , with some research i found that flatwounds are best due to the hollow body construction and would bring out the deep warm tone that hofners are famous for .
I started using Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on my my basses a couple years ago, best choice I ever made. I use em for any genre of music. They're surprisingly bright and they last forever.
I only ever had one set of flats. Technique and the tone knob can make rounds sound like flats but not vice-versa. I have Pro Steels on my Aria (active lefty-PJ) and Swings on my Kimbara (passive JJ).
Mostly rounds for me. I really like the "piano" sort of overtones and the metallic clank when I play hard, and I'm into a lot of rock and metal so it works well. Even on fretless I like the brighter sound, it really doesn't wear the board that much. There are scratches on the fingerboard. but not really visible unless you're looking. It'll be a looong time before it needs to be sanded.
I have a 5 string with Ernie ball Cobalt flats though, great B string and just fun overall. I mostly reach for that bass for an old school sound. Hip hop, fingerstyle funk, older rock, they do that well. They have versatility though, it's all about how you attack them.
I've only had my bass 2 weeks. The bass came with D’Addario EXL 165 roundwound.
I use the D'Addario Chromes Flats, 45-100. They're absolutely killer, and although I'm exclusively a fretless player now, I used to use them on my fretted basses too.
More than anything, I find that they sit really nicely in a mix - less business in the sound via less upper harmonic content means that you can really find that niche above the kick drum and below the lower chordal sounds and things blend perfectly.
The D'Addarios are also great as they have a little more bite than most flats, and this bite stays around for ages, so they can deliver better results for more aggressive players in rock or other heavier stuff
Agree on your string choice. I just bought a yamaha bbp4 which I love, but it came with rounds which I found too pingy through most of the pickup and tone blend range. I put on a set of chromes and this bass now sounds killer- including the bridge pickup solo which i didn't expect.
round slap 3:48
flat slap 4:59
Luigi Zanini Extremely helpful comment. Thanks!
He actually had a good slap sound even with the flats. With the right eqing maybe even better. I was a flat user before and may switch back. Very full tone and easy to cut through in the mix.
I'm a flat guy. I use LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass Mediums!
Lmao they sound like different types of worms. Roundworms, tapeworms, flatworm
😃
Ah yes, let me just play my bass with dirtwounds, gives it that nice earthy tone
Haha I thought the same
System had something to say about tapeworms…
OMG we’ve been playing worms this entire time…
I switched to flats about 10 years ago and I'll never go back. I play DR flatwound Hi Beams. Love love love them.
Thomastik infeld-jazz flats. My favorite strings by far. They have great mids and they're very expressive. Tone is a little more chill than nickel-half round
Jupiter these strings changed my life
If they could capture that sound with higher tension, I'd literally never buy another set of strings. I was told by someone at Thomastik though that the tension was inextricably tied to the sound - which is a real bummer, because I can't deal with strings that feel like rubber bands - unless I'm doing reeeeally mellow studio work.
allrequiredfields they sound and feel fine above the 10 fret but below that it gets a bit mushy.
I have some on my new G&L JB but I’m considering putting on some La Bella’s
Fantastic video!! Thank you.
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿❤️
Not the biggest wiz on what are the best strings to use, so I salute ye for this video! Appreciate the work always!
This is an excellent educational video for folks who don't know a thing about bass strings.
i changed my p bass and ric 4001 to flatwound after long time of watching comparison videos. and very satiafied now. thank you!
Flatwounds 45-105
Is this what he is using?
Its what I use, I only play in a church worship band, they seem to fit that space well.
@@andrewneufeld3097 oh I understand, thank you! Not too stiffy? You have to press down harder right?
I planning to buy D'ADDARIO Chromes 45-100 ECB81 btw
I had more issues adjusting to the smoother strings, overshooting slides and such. That did not last long. I was a roofer for a lot of years so I have strong hands so I might not have noticed if they are stiffer.
As a recording engineer with 25 years of experience:
We LOVE flatwounds. Sounds soo much better and musical in the mix! Greatly exemplified here by the slapping. The rounds sounded like a solo bass album (very small market) while the flats sounded like a record.
It is one of those little recording pro «secrets».
Yeah. Love using flats for recording.
I really like the sound and feel of flats, but then I really miss the growl I can get from round wounds, which for rock, is pretty important.
100%
Started playing round wounds, but after a total makeover I put some flatwounds on it. Never go back. They are so nice and silky. I love the sound and the feel !
Here are a few more important differences which he didn't mention. Flatwounds on a longscale bass,, don't stretch as easily, therefore it requires more string tension to achieve the same tuning as roundwounds. More tension on less flexible strings, means that flatwounds will be stiffer and harder to depress. The greater tension will cause the neck to curve more, which means that your action might be higher and you might have to relieve your truss rod and readjust your set up.
Higher action and stiffer strings will feel like weightlifting for you fingers. Flatwounds on a longscale bass also makes string bending much more difficult. If you switch to flatwounds, I highly recommend doing some research on how to perform a proper setup on your bass.
On a shortscale bass, the greater tension of stiffer flatwound strings is actually a big advantage. Players who are new to shortscale basses often complain about the sloppy, rubber bandy feeling of the strings and consequently, some added string buzz. On shortscale basses with roundwounds, string bends re very easy, but string buzz can sometimesbe a problem.
However, flatwound strings on a shortscale bass are a match made in heaven. The higher tension removes that sloppy rubber body feel, while still offering easier bends than roundwounds on a long scale bass. I would never even consider roundwounds on a shortscale bass. I imagine that the only reason, shortscale basses are even sold with roundwounds is to save money. The first thing that I did to my Mustang bass was switch to flatwound D'darrio Chromes.
correction. higher action do to increase string tension means you have to add tension to the truss rod, not relieve it...
Thanks for all your videos. I use Flat wound on my Fender Bass VI. I have rounds on my Jazz Bass, but am going to convert them to flats. For me, I find the rounds are more comfortable, so I can play along with more of your videos.
Ernie Ball Cobalt 5-string flatwound.
Edit: I love the cobalt flats because they’re significantly brighter than the steel flats.
Thats cause the magnetizm want full bright go for full nickel
I use these as well...gives me the feel of the flats, but I can crank the pickups up and get the brightness of the rounds....only strings i will buy from now on
I use round but played a friend's bass with Flatwoods and it felt amazing so easy
I'm a beginner, I have roundwounds since that is what came with the bass. I want flatwounds because the pickups are really noisy when I turn on the tone knob. So I just wanna embrace the tone being rolled off tbh.
Change the pickup. Pickups are cheap right now.
I have got into using light gauge roundwound Rotosound strings, 35 - 55 - 70 - 90 initially I starting using them on my acoustic but I am going to get them for my next electric string set as well. Although he didn't influence my choice initially, it way simply experimenting with getting a better sound, I read that Cluff Burton used lighter gauge strings and I don't feel it made him sound at all light weight.
I am trying to go for the Beatles type tone. Should I swap my roundwounds for flatwounds.
Use flatwounds. It gives an upright bass tone which is what Macca’s hoffner bass sounds like it.
@@slappadabassmon8629 ok I coincidentally bought flatwounds today at Guitar Center. Thanks for the advice though!
@@gabeabraham9285 haha so did I! Lets start a band bro. This a sign. God is bringing us together to start a band. We are going to bring back great music
@@slappadabassmon8629 Ha! I don’t know about you but I’m in TN!
@@gabeabraham9285 im in PA lol
I am a huge fan of both! Different situations call for different sounds ;)
GHS Pressurewounds are my absolute favorite round wounds - and in all honesty they are semi- flats... making them one unique string!!!
Ernie Ball Colbalt Flat Wounds are some of my favorite flat wounds...
I started off with flat wounds, because those were the strings my dad’s bass had. After getting my own bass last year, I decided to get round wounds to see what they’re like. I like both strings and which ones I play depends on the type of music I’m playing at the time.
Fender Am Pro PB with Fender PV63s, a 920D PB wiring harness and Fender 9050 stainless flatwounds. Play through a Little Marcus 102 combo. Can achieve all the tones ever need! Absolutely LOVE this rig!! Unbelievable!
Cobalt flats 45 - 105 Brighter than normal flats. Made by Ernie Ball.
Are there bass models which lend themselves more to specific strings? I'm thinking Hofner violin flats for a start. What about rounds?
Fender medium-gauge flats on my MIM Fender Jazz.
I use roundwounds on my Fender Active Precision bass for the sound, and flatwounds on my Ibanez Portamento fretless bass to not damage the fingerboard. They both sound great for what they do!
Ernie Ball's Elixirs, Round. Been using them all my bass life
i have flatwound black taped for years now. i love them fantastic tone, lots of life and sparkel
Most basses come with roundwounds on them. Im old school so I want the mellower sound. That being the case I would rather have flat wound.
I'm with you Paul. Warm is my style. It's not so in-your-face obnoxious.
Thank you for the video explanation, the differences and examples of who has used them. I like to buy flats for worship in future for warmer tones since it doesn’t require slap but maybe in future I’ll buy a second bass for slap with rounds. But they both sound well to my ears for slap but I understand in some mixes the rounds would help stand out more.
GHS Pressure Wounds - The brightness of rounds, the smooth feel of flats.
Couldn’t agree more - been using them for quite some time!!!
GHS Pressure Wounds...it's very sticky
I have tapewound D'Addario medium 50-105 presently and love the deep bass tone.
i have it too!!! i love them! and they are better than flats for slap (but not better than round of course)...i think that tapewound strings are too much underrated!
I personally like rounds but my fingers don’t lmao 😂
Lol, made the switch to flats day before I was playing my 3rd gig. Had some blood pressure issues when I found my fingers sliding around on the smooth strings. Thought I made a big mistake until I heard the sound.
Awesome, thank you for this. I’m new bass player, so just learning all this.
I use round wound. Ernie Ball is my preferred brand.
Why do you prefer Ernie Ball, Dear Daryl?
@@beasheerhan4482 they seem to last a lot longer than other brands, have more crisp tone than other brands, and stand up to the torture that I put strings through.
@@@darylbriggs2040 Thank you for your time and perspective, Kind Sir!
@@beasheerhan4482 I also use rounds and prefer Ernie Ball, I like that the E string has a deep and strong low end sound to it, while some brands it seems that the E low end is dead. D'addario has terrible low end sound to it.
@@ViBoMe Thank you very much, Dear Vitor!
I have 3 basses so:
For my 4string Stingray - Roundwound Ernie Ball strings
For my 5string Fretless - Flatwound D'Addario strings
For my 12string (Tom Petersson style) - Roundwound D'Addario strings (they have a set made for this kind of bass so i don't have to mix and match)
A bass guitar without flatwounds sounds like a baritone guitar I love daddario chromes ecb84 set and they get better as they age
I put LaBella stainless steel flatwounds on my Fender P Bass, after playing roundwounds for about 10 years. I will never go back to roundwounds again. The feel and tone of the flats, is amazing. I wish I had switched 10 years ago.
Calling it now. It all depends on the style of music you are playing.
I listen to heavy metal what strings should I use?
@@Pro1938ftc3ch roundwound
@@Pro1938ftc3ch but for just listening to heavy metal, why would you need strings? ;)
@@LordSesshomaru584 so I need no strings to play heavy metal ok
In fact not really, you can play whatever you want with whatever you have, it can gives interestings combinations
Great video Mark. I think it's one of the best video for comparing rounds vs flats. It probably would have been nice to have some tapes in there aswell.
This video just wound me up! (See what I did there! - I'll get my coat!)
For my Precisions & Yamaha BB424, I have either D'Addario Chromes or GHS Precision Flats. That being said, I recently switched to Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Flats from EB RS Rounds on my 1966 Fender MIJ LE Jazz Bass. I'm a 67 yr. old geezer and going back to my roots w/flats. Nothing against round wound strings, tho'.
D'Addario round wounds , they last long time.
Mine usually didn't. And by long I mean several months. You know. I am cheap. I only spend 150€ per year on new strings.
@@DarkShaman667 I tried Ernie Ball strings one time and they wore out really fast , they where strange the strings would stick to my fingers like a magnet.
@@markbass354 The Ernie Ball Cobalds are nice, I had a set. But I guess everyone has a different taste, feel and style.
@@DarkShaman667 I wanna try the strings Billy Sheehan uses I forgot what they where called
@@markbass354 Maybe it's mentioned somewhere on the internet. There are several gear, string or bass sites.
OKAY be honest were you looking at my search history today!? Impeccable timing!
Personally I love playing slap on flatwounds. Has a more old school, upright bass sound like the bassists in old rockabilly bands got. To each their own tho.
I use typical round wounds on my fretted bass and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat Wound strings on my fretless. The Thomastiks were designed to be a little brighter, and I love the tone on the fretless. I'd note, too, that on a fretless bass, round strings will really chew up your fingerboard, so the flats have a huge pro (or the rounds a huge con) for fretless basses.
It's like he just broke up with his girlfriend, his kid has just broken his brand new coffee machine and there's a traffic official ticketing his car outside, but he's got to finish the video.
I've been using the same set of flatwounds for a couple of years now.
Easy to clean and easy on the fingers. Cheaper on the long run
Carol Kaye instructs anyone who asks her to use Flatwound and she used it on every record she recorded on from the 60's until now. She is arguably one of the the most recorded Rock/Pop/Jazz/Funk/Disco Bass player ever. I hope that helps anyone trying to decide.
For Roundwound: Rotosound RS66LD Swing bass (45•65•80•105)
For Flatwound: Rotosound RS77LD Jazz bass (45•65•85•105)
Steve harris uses flatwound... End of discussion
Hey there great videos, thank you! There is another option, half rounds. They have some of the characteristics of both. I've been using them for years and depending on how I EQ my gear I can chameleon the sound to what ever it needs to be mostly. Please keep making videos these are very helpful!
That was a great explanation of the 2 types of bass strings. Thank you. I have used flat wound strings and I use to use something called black tubes that had a covering over the strings. I like a melo sound to my bass.
I play flats after years of rounds. Labella for darker classic sounds. Ernie Ball Slinky Flats for a brighter sounds. They are super dope.
My go to is Fender stainless steel flat wounds I love them on all my bass! Except for my Steve Harris precision bass, I have a signature strings on that one
Both!! I have flats on my fretless and round wounds on 4 and 6 strings.
I use D'Addario XL Chromes 12/52 flatwound (ECG25) on my electric guitar. I play death metal and black metal rhythms in my electronic and symphonic metal compositions. I might be buying a bass guitar this year, but I have never played one and I currently use a mixed combination of various plugins, midi guitar and octavers. I also mix 6 to 8 channels of various distortion styles using flatwound strings of which I record seperate strings from my gk2 pickup as well as both guitar pickups for a total of 8 channels per guitar track which my songs uses 2 to 4 guitar tracks. (4 guitar tracks equals 32 direct input DAW tracks). I will also want to record individual bass guitar strings (5 or 6 string bass) using the roland midi pickup for bass guitars and record every seperate pickup as well. I record improv practice sessions with 8 tracks which allows me to take full advantage of all possible production techniques including ones never used before. I often forget newly inspired riffs and now I not only can fully analyze what I played, but can manipulate it or shape it any way I like if I cannot physically perform it. I also use programmed Ample Sound Hellraiser virtual guitar for leads I cannot play due to my deformed broken finger.
I have not used round wounds in over 20 years but have also not been playing guitar for 14 years. I wanted to know the differences for guitar, but most likely round wounds are brighter. I generally do not like fret sounds unless it fits the mix of particular songs, so flatwounds gives me cleaner tones of direct input. I do utilize vst plugins fret noise generators to humanize programmed guitars to sound less mechanical.
I most likely will stick with flatwounds for my guitar as well as a bass whenever I get one.
I have one bass fitted with flats , and I love the feel and tone ! I actually prefer them
I have Flats...D’Addario Chromes, 45 - 100 on my 4003SW.
My Rickenbacker 2030 have Roundwounds on them. I purchased the bass and those were the strings on it when I got it.
That was a very helpful overview. Thanks for sharing.
For context, I am mainly a guitarist, but was asked to play bass for a country/folk group. I got hold of a second hand bass with round wounds. Played it for a while.
Then, I bought some Adagio flat wound strings. £17 or so. Put them on and I love them for the sort of playing that I am doing.
Of course, they wouldn't do for heavy rock or metal, but for my gentle plodding bass they are just ideal.
Thanks for mentioning Steve Harris - the reason I bought a bass in the first place. Trying to play like him can be very discouraging tho!
Same here, like 25 years ago!
excellent ep! TYVM. I have round. I'm planning on building a headless bass with flats.
Great no nonsense straight to point and informative. Might've liked to see this extended to tspewonds but I'm guessing not a lot of difference with flats
Thank you for the terrific video! I've used round wounds (D'Addario) forever but like the idea of giving the flat wound style a go. Sadly, I like the "bright" tone you've demonstrated using round wounds, but fret noise (and wear) are troublesome. If ONLY they could make a somewhat brighter sounding round wound string...
Ernie ball flatwounds are pretty bright
I use an unknown set of flats (purple wraps) on a Hofner HCT 500/1. No issues with sustain whatsoever. Love them and I now am a flats addict.
I have basses strung with both flats and roundwounds. As i am an older player I still like the sound of flats for blues, classic 60's and70's rock and I prefer them in the studio most of the time. Rounds for newer stuff and when i am doing gigs where I need to cut through a little better. I use LaBellas for flats and usually Dean Markley's or LaBella RX stainless for rounds. 45-105
I play mostly jazz and blues and use flats exclusively. Flats on a jazz bass and plucking close to the neck gives you a sound similar to that of an upright bass (if that's what you desire).